5 Out of 8 Draws

An awkward looking collision between Charlie Adam and Sunderland's Danny Rose

My team, I say reluctantly, Stoke City faced off against Sunderland on October 27th. It ended in Stoke's fifth draw in eight matches. Coincidentally, it was Sunderland's fifth in seven matches. This 0-0 result was to be expected, still it was a little disappointing. Sunderland's defense is always tough to pick through, but they are having a hard time on the opposite side of the pitch scoring goals. Stoke's defense is definitely no slouch either, especially when they're at home in Britannia Stadium like they were for this match. However, I believe the Potters' manager, Tony Pulis, needs to make some changes to his offense. Right now he's running a 4-5-1 with the giant striker, Peter Crouch up front by himself. I think he's got a good thing going with his midfield and they are creating chances, but his whole plan is to get quality crosses into Peter Crouch whose height advantage allows him to win most headers. Not to mention, Crouch always has beautiful first touch on the ball and creates a lot of his own chances on goal. The problem is that Stoke's acquisition of Charlie Adam hasn't really blossomed yet. Adam just won't calm down when he has possession. Too many times does he get the ball and immediately sends it into the air just hoping that a teammate will get a head on it. Pulis has been trying to get Adam to take his time and look for the more handy cross but he's just not getting it yet. Personally I think they need to put him into a forward position with crouch and run the classic 4-4-2. They can have that formation and still play to their strengths. Time will tell, I guess.

Robert Huth and Sunderland's Steven Fletcher

Photo Source: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk

Peter Crouch and Sunderland's John O'Shea

Soccer Clips

I saw these today and I thought you all might enjoy them. HILARIOUS!! My favorite is the official giving the yellow card.

                                


                             
Source: http://funkydowntown.com/funniest-soccer-animations-funny-2010-fifa-world-cup-video-clip/#ixzz0r0uTsytw

Yet Another Draw

     After defeating Swansea 2-0 with relative ease, Stoke City earned their 5th draw of the season. Stoke and Liverpool faced off and finished in a 0-0 draw. Normally I would not be too happy about a 0-0 draw, however, Liverpool is one of the best football clubs in the Premier League so Stoke keeping a clean sheet against them is a pretty big deal as far as I'm concerned.

     I'd like to address an issue I have with Liverpool's go-to striker, Luis Suarez. Throughout the match Suarez was battling my favorite defender for the Potters, Robert Huth. It was obvious that Suarez was getting frustrated not being able to best the tall defender. During the match, Suarez was trying to move the ball through Stoke's box when he lost control of the ball and his footing. He lost the ball and was able to stay on his feet. That wasn't the issue. The problem was when he realized he'd lost the ball, Suarez dove to the ground looking for a penalty. I understand that trying to draw fouls is sometimes just a part of the game and I understand why some players do it, but this was just shameful. Suarez has always been known for taking dives and I'm a little upset that he wasn't shown a yellow card for his dive against Stoke. No player should ever get away with such a flagrant dive. It was simply disgraceful and it embarrassed me. 

Liverpool's Luis Suarez dives against Stoke (8_10) by antonis_tsi

A lot of officials will give a yellow card for such a display and I'm very disappointed that Suarez didn't get one here. In my opinion, a dive like this should be given a yellow card automatically without any hesitation. There's a difference between drawing a foul strategically, and trying to get away with something because you lost out. That said, Luis Suarez is an amazing footballer. He just has his moments.

FINALLY...A WIN!!!!

     As you all know by now, Stoke City is my favorite football club in the Premier League. Stoke started off a little rocky this season with 4 straight draws and a loss which is not exactly the best way to add points to one's tally. However, Stoke now have their first win right after their first loss. They beat Swansea 2-0. You may recall from my last post that I was really wanting Peter Crouch to get his 4th goal of the season after not scoring in the club's first loss, and he did. Crouch also got his 5th! He was so close to a hat trick too. What would have been his 3rd goal of the match ricocheted off the crossbar of the goal. I literally jumped off the couch! The Britannia stadium was so loud for both of Crouch's goals and after his second, the fans began to sing his praises (I'll admit that I may have joined in a little). "He's big, he's red, his feet stick out the bed! Peter Crouch, Peter Crouch!" They sing, "His feet stick out the bed" because of how tall he is if you can't tell from the photo.

                                                                                   Michael Steele-Getty Images

     I was a little surprised at Swansea's performance. They started off the season on fire. Pretty much everyone expected it to be a closer match than it was. Nevertheless, Stoke walked away with their first win relatively easy. Whether the Stoke City Potters are your favorite team or not, you still have to give these guys some respect. They're very good at finding a way to hang in there. I know that we're a long way from the end of the season, but this was still a much needed win for a very deserving club. 

Swansea

Just wanted to give a good luck post to Stoke City in their upcoming match against Swansea. Hopefully my favorite team will continue to defend the way they have been and I hope Peter Crouch gets his 4th goal of this season. Here's a list of the Stoke City players that will be active for the match against Swansea.

Safety

Over the last 20 years of the Premier League, there have been a lot of changes to regulation. Among these changes are those made to safety in the league.

In 2006 Chelsea's goalkeeper, Petr Cech, fractured his skull in a match against Reading. The league treated this as a warning sign. The pace of the game is so different now than it was just a few years ago.  With the way people tackle now, there will probably be a lot less contact injuries.

                                                       (Chelsea goalkeeper-Petr Cech)


The medical provision in the Premier League has changed massively. You generally have a couple of physicians sitting on the bench. If something happens, they get to players very quickly and start the treatment as soon as they are injured so you minimize damage to the player.

Stoke from austinswisher

Upcoming Matches and League Standings

Hey all. Just wanted to post the big upcoming Barclays Premier League matches and the current league standings.

9/29 Arsenal vs. Chelsea
9/29 Fulham vs. Manchester City
9/29 Reading vs. Newcastle United
9/29 Sunderland vs. Wigan Athletic
9/29 Stoke City vs. Swansea City

	OVERALL
POS									TEAM							P	W	D	L	F	A
1									Chelsea							5	4	1	0	9	2
2									Manchester United							5	4	0	1	12	6
3									Everton							5	3	1	1	9	5
4									West Bromwich Albion							5	3	1	1	7	4
5									Arsenal							5	2	3	0	9	2
6									Fulham							5	3	0	2	12	7
7									Manchester City							5	2	3	0	10	7
8									Tottenham Hotspur							5	2	2	1	8	6
9									West Ham United							5	2	2	1	5	4
10									Newcastle United							5	2	2	1	6	6
11									Swansea City							5	2	1	2	10	7
12									Sunderland							4	0	4	0	4	4
13									Stoke City							5	0	4	1	4	5
14									Aston Villa							5	1	1	3	5	9
15									Wigan Athletic							5	1	1	3	5	10
16									Southampton							5	1	0	4	9	15
17									Norwich City							5	0	3	2	2	8
18									Liverpool							5	0	2	3	4	10
19									Queens Park Rangers							5	0	2	3	3	11
20									Reading							4	0	1	3	4	9

Champions League: 1st , 2nd , 3rd

Champions League qualifying: 4th

Europa League: 5th

Relegation: 18th , 19th , 20th